OFFICIAL STATEMENT
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of the Donetsk People's Republic and Novorossiya

on the
Military Conflict
between Novorossiya and the Kiev Government
and the So-called "Ukrainian Presidential Elections"
of May 25, 2014.

On May 25, 2014, so-called "Ukrainian presidential elections"
called by the actual Kiev government will take place in a part of the
territory of former Ukraine.

In this connection,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPR and Novorossiya is authorized
to state as follows:

1. Under the Declaration
on Sovereignty and as a result of the Referendum of the 11th of May,
2014 two republics of Novorossiya, the Donetsk People's Republic and
the Lugansk People's Republic are sovereign states that have started
the process of association into a new sovereign European federal state,
Novorossiya.

2. Since the 12th
of May, 2014, the date of the Referendum vote counting, the actual Kiev
government is an aggressor against the DPR and the LPR and its troops
and paramilitary units are occupation forces. We are authorized to declare
that we are in a in a state of war with the actual Kiev government.
Whereupon where are not in a state of war with the state of Ukraine,
since we do not recognize and have never recognized the powers of the
actual Kiev Government to represent the state of Ukraine. The head of
that state (except the Donetsk and the Lugansk Regions and the Crimean
Autonomy that have exercised their right to self-determination) is Mr.
V.F. Yanukovich whose term of office expires in February, 2016.

3. At present,
besides the troops acting on orders of the actual Kiev government, the
DPR and the LPR fight death squadrons manned by Ukrainian and foreign
mercenaries acting on orders of the actual government of the city of
Dnepropetrovsk headed by Mr. I.V. Kolomoyskyi. According to available
facts, they do not obey the Kiev government directly, although they
are its war allies. Other enemies fighting us are mercenary troops and
gangs acting by orders of different parties, including armed mercenary
troops from third states. The latter fact permits us to state the fact
of an international aggression against Novorossiya, since infiltration
of armed mercenaries is also considered as an aggression under the UN
Charter.

4. We are authorized
to declare that no "Ukrainian presidential elections" may
and will take place in the territories of the Donetsk People's Republic
and the Lugansk People's Republic, and their results in our territories
will have no legal effect. On the other hand, we must warn that such
vote may take place in the areas occupied by the actual Kiev government,
such as the Svatovsky District where the Kiev government armor and troops
are concentrated, and the results of such vote may be used for propaganda
purposes. We also presume that the allies of the Kiev Government, the
NATO and the EU countries, as well as the OSCE that has fully sided
with them will recognize the results of those elections and take measures
to legitimize the new regime.

5. We presume
that hopes for appeasement of the aggressor after the elections cherished
by some politicians are false and that after having obtained a semblance
of legitimacy, the Kiev regime will not withdraw troops. On the contrary,
it will start a new military offensive in the East immediately. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPR and Novorossiya is obliged to
warn all politicians and all states about the inadmissibility of any
actions aimed at the legitimization of an aggressor. In this case, they
will be jointly responsible with Kiev for the war crimes committed by
it, namely for the promotion of warmongering, for crimes against peace
and international security, for the continuing crimes committed by the
Kiev regime in violation of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions
against prisoners of war, the wounded and civilians.

Our estimate is
based on facts. We would like to draw attention to the statements made
by the two front-runners in this election. E.g., Yu.V. Tymoshenko declared
her desire to exterminate Russians with the help of mass destruction
weapons. Her wish soon came true in Odessa and Mariupol where chemical
weapons were used under orders of her associates. The Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons started an investigation procedure
in respect of those facts, inter alia upon request of our Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. This procedure is named: "Fact-Finding Mission
on the Possible use of Chemical Weapons" in the cities of Odessa
and Mariupol. On the 23rd of May, P.A. Poroshenko declared that it was
necessary to continue war in the East of Ukraine and promised three
thousand dollars' salaries and one hundred thousand dollars' funeral
grants to the mercenaries who are ready to exterminate the population
of Novorossiya. We would like to draw attention to the fact that those
declarations are not election slogans either: Ukrainian soldiers do
not wish to fight the people, and the number of the Kiev mercenaries
invading our territories from the West is growing on a daily basis.

6. In this connection,
we were surprised to hear the opinion from Moscow where those elections
were called "a step in the right direction". We call Russian
politicians to review their attitudes carefully. Can actions leading
to aggravation of a war be "a step in the right direction"?
Can the encouragement and legitimization of a regime that has shown
its ability to stoop to any war crimes, including the use of WMD and
killing the wounded lying in the beds of a hospital they captured be
"a step in the right direction"? Can, finally, the encouragement
of the Nazis who have won out in Kiev to elect their new Fuehrer legitimately
be "a step in the right direction"?

Possibly, the
Russian politicians have some illusions about the new Kiev authorities.
We presume that those illusions will be shattered as early as on the
26th of May, 2014 when numerous new items will be added to the lists
of war victims and perpetrated war crimes. But in this case, this blood
will be also on the conscience of those who have directly or indirectly
supported the 25th of May elections.

We call all politicians
to dissociate themselves with those illegitimate elections, to condemn
them and to declare expressly their non-recognition of their results
immediately.

Politicians have
only a single day to distance themselves from the Kiev regime and the"
elections" it holds so that the new bloodshed and new war victims
would not burden their conscience. We are sure that the people of Donbass
will not believe any crocodile tears about innocent victims and ritual
consolations any more, irrespective of their source. We appeal to all
persons set in authority, we are obliged to warn everyone who has hastily
declared their support to this event being a hazard to the cause of
peace: denounce those elections now, or you will share responsibility
for all their tragic consequences.

7. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs declares its confidence that the military adventure
of the Kiev authority will suffer a crushing defeat, the aggressor will
be punished as it deserves, and all war criminals will be brought to
trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Ukraine.
We declare our commitment to the cause of peace and call all states
to cooperate in attaining a lasting peace and curbing the Kiev aggressors.

The Collegium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Donetsk
People's Republic and Novorossiya,

in concurrence
with the State Council of Novorossiya
the 24th of May, 2014